The domain name system (DNS) and domain name registration system have become an integral part of how consumers and businesses conduct activity on the Internet.
One advantage of DNS is that it allows a person to visit a website by typing into a browser a “domain name”, that is, a familiar word or group of words, rather than the numeric IP address of the computer on which the website resides. For example, a person desiring to visit the VeriSign website could do so by entering in their web browser the domain name “verisign.com” instead of an IP address, such as “10.10.1.100.” Although, the user could enter either the domain name or the IP address, the moniker “verisign.com” is easier to remember than a string of digits. A domain name is an example of a “provisioned object,” that is, an object that is assigned or released through an interface.
The DNS system also allows multiple websites to share one IP address when multiple domain names all resolve to (that is, are associated with) the same IP address. A webserver that has been assigned a specific IP address receives, as part of the request for web content, the domain name requested and can then deliver the desired content to the requesting computer. This multiple-website feature is important because there are a finite number of IP addresses of the form 10.10.1.100, so called “IPv4 addresses.” Without this ability for multiple websites to share an IP address, the possible IPv4 address space would likely have already been exhausted.
Furthermore, the next version of IP address space, so called “IPv6,” includes an even more complicated numeric format. Whereas IPv4 is only 32 bits in binary length, IPv6 is 128 bits. A typical hexadecimal representation of an IPv6 address is 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334. Because of the increased length of IP address in this format, there are approximately 5×1028 theoretical addresses available for each one of the 6.8 billion people alive. Although IP address exhaustion will no longer be a concern under the new addressing scheme, the DNS system remains important so that people can use familiar domain names rather than long strings of hexadecimal digits to visit websites or access machines on the Internet.
Domain name registration is the process by which a registrant can reserve or lease the use of a domain name for a specified period of time from the date of registration. The domain name registration system consists of various top level domains (TLDs), such as the traditional .com, .net, .org, .edu, and .gov, as well as the newer .biz, .info, and .name. The domain name registration system has also evolved to incorporate various country code TLDs (ccTLDs), each one reserved for use by a particular country, such as, .ca, .cn, .tv, and .us, associated with Canada, China, Tuvalu, and the United States, respectively. The domain name system and domain name registration system have also evolved to allow the use of alternative character sets to accommodate foreign languages.
A domain name is reserved by a domain name “registrant.” The registrant may reserve the domain name for at least one year but may reserve the domain name for up to ten years. Domain names are reserved through domain “registrars.” Registrars are entities having business relationships with domain “registries” that control the domain names for a particular TLD. Thus, the registrar provides the interface to the registrant to reserve the domain name from a registry. The registry manages the reserved names and available names for a particular TLD and makes available the information to the registrar through the Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP). Registrars that are authorized by the registry have the ability to make reservations and check the state of domain names through the EPP. The registry provides the EPP as a communications gateway to registrars for such purposes.
In a typical domain name registration example, a registrant may want to reserve the domain name “example.com.” The registrant would contact a registrar that has a business relationship with the registry that operates the .com TLD. The registrant would query the registrar as to the availability of the domain name “example” in the .com namespace. The registrar in turn would query the proper registry through the EPP, then return the results to the registrant. The registrant may then obtain a registration of the domain name by paying a registration fee and providing information required by the registry and registrar. The registry charges the registrar for the domain name registration and the registrar collects the registration fee from the registrant.
To maintain a domain name in accordance with current regulations, the registry responsible for a TLD is required to keep a certain minimum amount of information with the domain name to ensure proper identification, security features, and operability associated with the domain name. For example, all domain registrants are required to make available to the registry, current administrative contact information. Also, in order for a domain name to work correctly, the registry must have nameserver information for the domain to load into its TLD DNS system to refer outside DNS requests to the proper authoritative DNS servers. Also, to prevent accidental changes to the domain name settings, certain status codes are available to put various levels of protection on the domain name. This information will be discussed below in more detail.
One problem with having the registry system as described is that it does not easily accommodate some registrants with alternative business models for domain registration. Thus, some potential registrants may limit their purchase of domain name registrations. For example, suppose a web hosting service provider would like to provide an option for a web hosting contract with its customer that includes the use of a domain name without charge to the customer. In reality, the web hosting service provider is hoping to recover the cost of the fees it pays for domain registration through web hosting fees it will charge to the customer over a period of time. Under the traditional domain registration schemes described above, if the customer prematurely ceases paying its web hosting fees, then the web hosting service provider may fail to recover the fees it paid to the registrar for registration of the domain name. Therefore a method is needed to allow the web hosting provider to exchange the domain name registered for the early-termination customer in favor of a different domain name that it can offer to its next customer.
Another example where such a method would be desirable is when a domain registrant's interest is not in selling products or services per se under a brand associated with the domain name, but rather reserving domain names that Internet users might enter accidently, by exploiting typographical errors entered in web site addresses. For example, suppose a registrant wanted to commandeer web traffic intended to go to “example.com,” but was not sure which variant of “example” would be most effective. The registrant might register, “example,” “exampple,” and “exampel” to see which was most effective, and place targeted advertising on the most effective variant. Under the traditional domain registration schemes described above, the registrant would lose the value of the domain names that did not produce many visits. In anticipation of this loss leader, the registrant may try small batches of reservations. If the registrant could exchange the unfruitful domain names for others, however, then the registrant might reserve many more initially, knowing that an unfruitful domain name could be exchanged for a domain name consistent with the registrant's next project. Therefore, a method of exchanging an existing domain name in favor of a new domain name is needed to encourage more registrations from this type of registrant.